Hello Cloud: First Steps into the Sky Realm
By IT-Journey Team
Create your first cloud account, install a cloud CLI, and deploy a simple resource safely.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Welcome, skybound adventurer! You stand at the edge of the mortal realm, gazing up at the shimmering Sky Realm — a vast kingdom of infinite compute power, boundless storage vaults, and magical services that can scale from a whisper to a thunderclap. Today, you claim your first foothold in the clouds.
But beware: the Sky Realm’s resources carry a cost. Careless adventurers have been bankrupted by forgotten resources left running in the mist. This quest teaches you to explore safely, provision wisely, and always clean up after your experiments.
🎯 Quest Objectives
Primary Objectives (Required for Quest Completion)
- Claim Your Sky Realm Passport — Create a cloud account with proper security wards (MFA)
- Forge Your Cloud Wand (CLI) — Install and authenticate a cloud command-line interface
- Summon Your First Cloud Creature — Provision a minimal VM or storage artifact
- Banish Your Creation — Destroy all resources to prevent gold drain (cost leaks)
Bonus Objectives (Optional Achievements)
- Activate protective wards: MFA and billing alerts
- Scout the free-tier treasure map and catalog available services
🗺️ Quest Prerequisites
📋 Knowledge Requirements
- Basic command-line incantations (terminal usage)
- Familiarity with realm registries (accounts and billing dashboards)
🛠️ System Requirements
- Stable portal connection (internet)
- Communication crystal (email + phone) for cloud signup
🌍 Choose Your Sky Kingdom
Each Sky Kingdom offers unique powers. Pick one for your first expedition — you can explore others later on your journey.
| Kingdom | Strengths | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | Vast army of services, battle-tested | General-purpose cloud mastery |
| Azure | Strong Microsoft alliance, enterprise fortifications | Windows-integrated workflows |
| GCP | Elegant developer tools, powerful data magic | Data science and clean APIs |
This quest includes GCP helper scrolls (scripts) for a low-friction first adventure.
🧙♂️ Chapter 1: Account Setup & Protective Wards
Every wise cloud mage secures their realm before summoning resources:
- Create your account with your chosen Sky Kingdom provider.
- Enable MFA — your first defensive ward against intruders.
- Set a billing alert — an alarm spell that warns you before gold is spent.
- Review free-tier limits — know what treasures you can summon without cost.
🧰 Chapter 2: Forge Your Cloud Wand (CLI Installation)
The Cloud CLI is your wand — the tool through which you channel commands to the Sky Realm.
From this quest directory, review and run the helper scrolls (GCP example):
./gcp/gcp-start.sh
./gcp/gcloud-cs.sh
Verify your wand is attuned (authenticated):
gcloud auth list
gcloud config list
⚔️ Chapter 3: Summon Your First Cloud Creature
Time to test your power! Summon a tiny VM using the provided incantation script:
./gcp/vm-startup.sh
Validate that your creature has materialized and is running in the Sky Realm.
🧹 Chapter 4: Banish & Clean Up
A careless mage leaves creatures roaming the clouds, draining gold with every passing hour. Always banish what you summon:
gcloud compute instances list
gcloud compute instances delete <instance-name>
If you conjured other artifacts (storage buckets, networks), banish them now to avoid surprise charges.
🏁 Quest Completion Checklist
- Cloud account created with MFA ward activated
- Billing alert spell configured
- Cloud CLI wand forged and authenticated
- Cloud creature summoned and then properly banished
📚 References & Resources
- AWS Free Tier
- Azure Free Account
- GCP Free Tier
- Google Cloud CLI Documentation
- AWS CLI Getting Started
- Azure CLI Documentation